


there's a countdown waiting (for me to erupt)

by ropememory



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Community: inception_kink, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-01
Updated: 2011-09-01
Packaged: 2017-10-23 07:50:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/247920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ropememory/pseuds/ropememory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which:<br/>Dom's the employer, Saito's the mark, Eames is the extractor, Arthur's the architect, Yusuf's the point man, Ariadne's the forger, Robert's the chemist and Mal is still... Mal</p>
            </blockquote>





	there's a countdown waiting (for me to erupt)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [this prompt](http://inception-kink.livejournal.com/11941.html?thread=25714853#t25714853) at inception_kink.
> 
> If you read it in the month of August, EST, then it was probably missing the last bit.

Dominic Cobb knows his wife is crazy, knows it’s because of the pills and various other chemicals she’s constantly putting into her body (or that he’s slipping her so they end up there). He also knows that she’s going to cause _problems_ if he can’t get the court to rule the way he wants to. Although, she’s probably going to cause problems either way. However he decides to handle the problem, it’s going to cost him a _lot_ of hard earned money, and probably a little dabbling into the grey part of the law (but only if he’s being morally generous with himself).

\--

Mal’s going to do something about Dom. She’s going to win, in court, she’ll be declared _sane_ and fit to be the mother to her children and Dom’s going to have to go through with a divorce, violating the pre-nup. Mal wants to laugh at Dom’s face in court, and when she shuts the door to the house on him.

\--

Dom knows who’s performing the psych evaluation on Mal. That’s how he gets the idea. It takes a few calls, through a friend of a friend of an acquaintance, but then he’s got a meeting with an extractor.

\--

“I want you to incept my wife’s psychiatrist,” Dom says.

The extractor looks at Dom, assesses him. “That’ll... take considerable funds.”

“I can afford it,” Dom tells him. “But, it needs to be done quickly.”

The extractor nods. “I’ll call you once I’ve got a team together.” And then he’s gone.

\--

Here’s what Eames knows about inception: it pays handsomely and it’s bloody difficult.

Here’s what Eames knows about the job Dom wants him to do: he’s going to need a damn good team for it to even _possibly_ work.

\--

Yusuf looks pained. Pained, and possibly like he’s thinking of the best way to strangle Eames. “There’s no way we could pull this off.”

“We _can,_ as long as you’re not defeatest about it,” Eames says.

“I will bet you a lifetime of pain and misery that it can’t be done,” Yusuf replies.

“Just start the research,” Eames says. “I need to get in touch with a few people.”

Yusuf hands him a piece of paper. “I already called Robert. Here’s Arthur’s newest number.”

“I love when you anticipate my needs,” Eames says, walking out the door to make a phone call.

\--

There are a few certainties in Yusuf’s life. One of them is that Eames is always going to take on impossible jobs. Another is that he normally pulls them off.

\--

“It’s borderline depressing that my degree might actually be useful,” Robert says once Eames finishes explaining what the job is.

Arthur’s face has just been one deepening frown. “I’m going to need to know what the inside of his office looks like.”

“Anyone know a good forger?” Eames asks.

“Anyone know a nonsuicidal extractor?” Yusuf asks.

“I might,” Robert says.

“Could you hook me up with them?” Yusuf asks.

Arthur seems intent on ignoring them. “What are the other two levels going to be?”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Robert says.

“I figured we’d work through that together,” Eames replies. “Now, this forger?”

\--

Robert is technically a doctor, of the medical variety. His father would only pay for med school, even though Robert insisted there were other degrees he could have gotten that would have paid just as well. His father just said he was lucky he got to go to med school instead of law school. Unfortunately, Robert couldn’t argue with that. So, he got the degree his father wanted, but his spare time was spent studying biochemistry, using the school’s resources when he could. Once he got his degree, he disappeared to Paris, knowing his father wouldn’t look there. Which is how he met the potential forger.

\--

“Here’s the thing,” Ariadne says, “if it’s not interesting, you shouldn’t waste your time.”

“I assure you that it’s _very_ interesting,” Eames says.

Ariadne’s looking at him like some sort of predator that’s stalking a prey. “Persuade me.”

\--

Ariadne had done everything theatre school could offer her: Shakespeare on stage, lead roles in hit productions from every country that had managed to produce one, one person productions where she directed, acted, did the set design. But, in the end, it boiled down to memorizing a series of lines and then putting the right emotions behind them. She was naturally good at it, to begin with, but she also worked _hard_ when she met an actual challenge. Unfortunately, the actual challenges were few and far between towards the end of her schooling. Stringing real people along with fake people in imagined scenarios, however, was a challenge. The only problem was that certain people didn’t _appreciate_ being a part of her cons.

\--

“The idea we need to plant is that Mal is crazy,” Eames says.

“So it’s just three levels of us telling him that she’s crazy,” Ariadne says.

“It’s more complicated than that.” Yusuf’s pained look is back.

“The mark, this Dr. Saito, pioneered a huge chunk of dreamshare research, in terms of the psychiatric effects on dreamers,” Arthur explains.

“Which means?” Ariadne asks.

“He’ll probably know it’s a dream,” Eames replies.

\--

Arthur, before getting into dreamshare, had been part of the Army Corps of Engineers. He also had an assortment of Government-paid-for degrees. One of those was in Architecture. It’s through his past job with the Corps, though, that he knows Yusuf. They’re not exactly friends, though, because it’s Yusuf’s fault Arthur had to find new employment. Apparently, when offkilter CIA agents come by to tell you that they’ve sabotaged the latest project because they needed a diversion and political tensions are running _really rather high_ in the current country you’re working, well, you should run away with them, as opposed to try and stop the explosion that’s about to go off. It seemed only fair, then, that Yusuf would be the one to find him a new line of work once he was discharged.

\--

“The third level should be the courtroom,” Eames says. “We’ll have him testifying that Mal’s crazy. Ariadne, you’ll need to be able to forge Cobb’s lawyer for this part. Saito’s mind should supply the rest of the projections for the courtroom.”

“Why couldn’t you have gone to law school?” Ariadne asks Robert.

“I hate my job,” Yusuf says.

“You’re really going to make me walk into a courtroom?” Arthur asks.

Eames ignores all of them. “The second level will be in his office, when he’s with Mal, evaluating her. Hopefully his projection of her will take over for Ariadne at this point.”

“So not only do I have to go into a courtroom, but I also have to pretend to be insane?” Arthur asks.

“You _are_ insane,” Yusuf replies. “You took this job.”

“I wouldn’t be here if I had gone to law school,” Robert finally tells Ariadne.

Eames is fairly certain he should get a medal for his ignoring abilities. “For the first level, Ariadne will forge Mal. I’ll lead Saito to her, and he’ll see the crazy. Which is the first suggestion.”

“So... the point of the third level is just to make sure it worked?” Ariadne asks.

“Well, that and reinforce that it was his idea, not ours,” Eames replies.

“But, there’s the issue of Saito _knowing all about dreamshare,_ ” Yusuf says.

“Right. Which is why Arthur will make the levels as realistic as possible, down to every last detail. I’m told he’s good at that,” Eames says.

Arthur rolls his eyes.

\--

Dom has a habit of keeping close tabs on his investments. He also has a habit of meddling when he probably shouldn’t.

\--

“I want to go down with you,” Dom says.

“No, no and more no.” Yusuf’s shaking his head.

“I need to know that it worked,” Dom continues.

“What makes you think you can’t trust our word for it?” Eames asks.

Dom narrows his eyes at Eames. “Either I go down with you, or I cut the fees.”

“If you cut the fees, we don’t do the job,” Eames says.

“Fees was a euphemism,” Dom says.

Eames takes a pen out of his pocket and writes an address on Dom’s hand. “Tomorrow. Eight am.”

\--

Mal knows that something’s going on. She pays attention to how Dom comes home later, how he keeps absently touching a spot on his wrist. She’d follow him, but then there would be no one to watch the children. And, if it’s a mistress, she’ll still be around when they start back at school. So she waits, and watches, and collects as much information as she can from her observations of Dom.

\--

“Tomorrow,” Eames says.

The team nods and starts packing away the workspace.

\--

Saito became interested in dreamshare when a young man, fresh out of the military, was sent to him by his parents. Saito thought it was standard PTSD, at first. But then, when he found out the young man had never been deployed, he was forced to re-evaluate. Through that man, Saito got in touch with the military contractors who had been running the dreams. Through the contractors, Saito came across the information for the first paper he published since getting his Ph. D.

\--

“My family,” Arthur says as Saito takes a sip of the water sitting next to him, “thinks that it might be worse than I do.”

Saito nods and makes a note on the pad in front of him.

Arthur waits a moment, and then Saito’s eyes are closing and his head is falling forward so his chin is resting on his chest. Arthur gets up to let the rest of the team into the room.

\--

Robert stays topside, monitoring the PASIV and the dreamers. Yusuf dreams the first level, a replica of the city where the Cobb’s and Saito live. Eames meets Saito outside his office building, on the premise that he’s working on Mal’s case and could he just have a few moments of Saito’s time?

They’re walking to the restaurant when, across the street, Ariadne-as-Mal and Dom get into some sort of argument, where “Mal” is yelling and harassing other projections, while Dom is standing by looking like the long-suffering husband he claims he is.

Eames doesn’t point it out, but he glances at Saito, who _is_ watching, with a small frown on his face.

“Who did you say you work for?” Saito asks.

“Mal’s lawyer,” Eames replies.

The projections seem to keep glancing at Eames, like they’re waiting for some sign before they attack. Eames just hopes the Arthur and Yusuf are where they’re supposed to be.

\--

They’re in a back room of a small restaurant that Saito had visited once while they were watching him. Yusuf’s acting at the waiter, and he slips the sedative in Saito’s drink order. Eames waits until Saito’s out before pulling the PASIV out from behind the booth. Arthur dreams the second level, Saito’s office, and he’s inside, finishing up a session with Saito when Ariadne-as-Saito’s secretary comes in to announce that Mal is there. Arthur leaves after a short goodbye, and then Saito’s projection of Mal is in the room with him.

\--

“I’m not insane, you know,” Mal says, walking around the office and touching the knick-knacks she finds there.

Saito hums so she’ll continue.

She’s moved to stand in front of Saito, leaning in so they’re eye to eye. “I’ll prove it.” And then there’s a knife in her hand that’s resting on the arm of Saito’s chair.

\--

The details about how they finally got to the third level are a bit hazy to Ariadne. At some point, a red light had started flashing on the desk, and she had rushed into Saito’s office.

“I’m not crazy,” Mal says, when Ariadne opens the door. But the knife that’s in her hand (‘And how did _that_ get there,’ Ariadne thinks) and the look on Saito’s face says makes the statement seem like a lie.

And then Eames is behind her, dressed like a security guard, restraining Mal.

Somewhere, either in between all that or after it, Saito’s drink is spiked and they’re going down to the third level, and Ariadne can’t think about how she got there because she has a job to do.

\--

Eames dreams the third level. Dom’s sitting at the table next to Ariadne, and Eames is at the table across from them, a silently angry Mal beside him. Saito’s sitting outside, waiting to be called in. It only takes a few minutes before the bailiff is walking out into the hallway and calling Dr. Saito.

Once he’s sworn in, Ariadne stands up to start her questioning. There’s the standard ones that identify him as an expert, and what he’s doing there. And then Ariadne asks the question about whether or not Mal can be declared legally sane.

After he answers, Ariadne tells the judge she’s got no further questions.

\--

When Saito wakes up, alone, in his office, his first thought is to check his wrist. Looking only confirms what he suspected.

\--

“I’ll wire the rest of the money once Saito testifies,” Dom says just before they part on the street.

\--

Saito interviews Mal two days after the shared dream. On the surface, she seems sane, but Saito can’t help feeling that she’s _not._ He knows he should ignore that feeling, that he should focus on what he actually sees in front of him, but the feeling lingers even after she’s gone.

\--

“I know you did something,” Mal says.

Dom ignores her. It won’t matter what she thinks she knows.

\--

Dom’s sitting in court next to his lawyer, while Mal is at the table across from them with her own lawyer. Once Saito’s sworn in, he focuses his attention on _Dom._

When Dom’s lawyer asks if he can apply his expert opinion to determine Mal’s sanity, Saito pauses. “I think I need to evaluate her, again,” he finally says. “Possibly her husband, as well.”

\--

“We have a problem,” Dom says when Eames finally answers the phone. “I don’t think it worked.”

“We can’t go in again,” Eames replies. “If he didn’t know before, he’ll know if we try a second time.”

“Either he testifies the way I want, or you don’t get paid. I suggest you figure something out.” Dom hangs up without waiting for a reply.

\--

Eames’ first call is Yusuf, always. Yusuf, as reluctant as he may be, can do whatever job Eames needs him to.

\--

“I should probably warn the others,” Yusuf says.

“Arthur and Robert are probably hidden away and hard to trace by now,” Eames says. “We haven’t failed yet.”

“What are you going to do?” Yusuf asks.

“I need you to get me an appointment with Saito,” Eames replies.

\--

Once upon a time, Yusuf worked for a government. The government he worked for changes depending on who’s asking. Eames knows, because it’s Eames’ fault Yusuf had to leave in the first place. Arthur knows, because it’s Yusuf’s fault Arthur had to leave. The only thing that doesn’t change, regardless of what country Yusuf supposedly worked for, is that he knows how to create and use some highly illegal software.

\--

“You look familiar,” Saito says when Eames walks in.

“I have an offer for you,” Eames says once the door is shut.

Saito nods. “Proceed.”

“Tell them what we want you to, and I’ll give you access to what I know you want to research,” Eames says.

“I’ll think about it,” Saito replies.

\--

Saito observes Mal again. He does it more to see if there’s anything small that might indicate that she’s not all there, than because he really needs to. When he’s called to court again, he answers the question to Dom’s satisfaction. That night, he receives a call from Eames.

\--

“Would it kill you to be a little more orthodox?” Arthur asks the next time they’re all together working on a job.

“It might kill Yusuf,” Eames replies.

“I could probably revive him if it was just a heart attack,” Robert says.

In the corner, Saito’s taking notes.


End file.
